head to head · open source
OpenViking vs SAG
OpenViking has 41,383 GitHub stars, 3,362 forks, 999 open issues and last shipped yesterday. SAG has 2,647 stars, 185 forks, 2 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. OpenViking leads on adoption by 1,463% (41,383 vs 2,647 stars). OpenViking is written in Python under AGPL-3.0; SAG is written in Python under MIT. OpenViking has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, SAG 7%. OpenViking was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (knowledge-base), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| OpenViking | SAG | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 41K | ★ 2.6K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.4K | ⑂ 185 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick OpenViking if
- You weight community size — 41K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick SAG if
- You want the SAG feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and SAG fits your workflow better
About OpenViking
The Context Database for AI Agents English / 中文 / 日本語 Website · Live Demo · GitHub · Issues · Docs · Blog Lark · WeChat · Discord · X What is OpenViking OpenViking is an open source context database for AI agents — one filesystem for everything an agent knows: knowledge, memory, and skills. Most agent memory is a black box: text goes in, embeddings come out, and nobody can see what was actually stored. OpenViking organizes context as a virtual filesystem under viking:// instead. Agents navigate it like files — ls , tree , read , write , grep — and you can open any directory to inspect and edit what your agent…
read the full OpenViking overview →
About SAG
SAG English · 简体中文 From now on, this is the only knowledge base app you need. Built on the state of the art SAG architecture, it turns scattered documents and data into knowledge that is searchable, connected, and traceable. Contents Community · Project · Technology · User Guide · Developer Guide Project Changelog August 30, 2026 SAG now supports @zleap ai/dsh sag . The built in local DeepSeek Harness connector makes SAG knowledge available to DSH Agents for search, source reading, and source and document management. August 13, 2026 Added OCTX source import and export with integrity validation, conflict…
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenViking or SAG more popular?
OpenViking has 41,383 GitHub stars and SAG has 2,647. OpenViking has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenViking and SAG free?
Both are open source. OpenViking is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and SAG under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between OpenViking and SAG?
OpenViking is written in Python and SAG in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, OpenViking or SAG?
Choose OpenViking if you want the larger community (41,383 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose SAG if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.